Dangan Ronpa Alternate
by Myshiroyuki
Summary: Sixteen new students enter Hope's Peak Academy. Feel their despair as they are forced to kill other to find a way out. Closed SYOC.
1. Chapter 1: OC List

**Hello, hello, hello, this is Myshiroyuki here. After being introduced to Dangan Ronpa and absolutely loved it, I decided to write an SYOC fanfiction of the story, considering I have experience in writing horror and mystery stories.**

**Updated 1/10/14 OC Submission limit reached. Thank you all for the submissions. I'm surprised at fast I got fourteen students.**

**Free-time events: There is only one rule when voting for who Haruhiko spends his free-time with. You can only vote for any OC's but your own. Also, you can vote three times. Just add the vote in a PM or with a review.**

**Myshiroyuki: Super High-School Level Follower Haruhiko Amaya (Main Character)**

**Nouva17: Super High-School Level Artist Akuro Arato**

**Mareisuinshihaku: Super High-School Level Journalist ****Kaori Kamioka**

**Miss Usami: Super High-School Level Babysitter Kohaku Hidaka**

**Demigod39cluesfan: Super High-School level Pyrotechnist Tayaka Hideyoshi**

**LightBlueRoses: Super High-school Level Orator Asato Tottori**

**Shadowplayer360: Super High-school Level Thief Tsukasa Mizukage**

**Makoto Naegi: Super High-School Level Typographer Yukari Masuda**

**TheRoseShadow21: Super High-School Level Harpist Hanabi Otonashi**

**TheRoseShadow21: ****Super High-School Level Ice Sculptor** Suzu Isaki

**MizunashiFuyuko: Super High-School Level Singer Fuyu Mayuzuki**

**15Lives: Super High-School Level Baker Alice Labella**

**LadyGlitchy: Super High-School Level Pianist Makaki Shuzi**

**Ridicule: Super High-School Level Information Broker Kurosu Ikeda**

**Neisan Rimu: Super High-School Level Street Racer Kenta Nakajima**


	2. Chapter 2: Students

It was strange.

That was all that Haruhiko Amaya thought the moment he lifted his head from the drool-covered desk to find himself in an unfamiliar room. Most people would be afraid or outright terrified to wake up and find themselves inside a classroom with iron plates bolted over the windows but not Haruhiko. He simply found it to be strange. Even knowing that the surveillance camera was staring right at him didn't faze the young man a tiny bit. He just readjusted his blue hoodie since it felt uneven over his average-sized body.

"Finally awake, huh?"

Haruhiko turned his head to see that he wasn't alone in the classroom. There were two other young men sitting in the desks behind him. The shorter of the two was a man whose overalls, white shirt, and sports cap were all stained with dozens of colors and gave Haruhiko a smile the moment their eyes met. The other was a man with shoulder-length messy black hair of the same age as Akuro that wore a long black coat, grey t-shirt, worn-out jeans, and purple sneakers. Haruhiko noticed that the taller one of the two refused to make eye contact with him and simply leaned back in his chair while the other man spoke.

"You've been asleep for quite a while," the paint-stained man told Haruhiko. He gave him another smile as he continued. "We were beginning to wonder if you were in a coma."

While the man spoke, Haruhiko took a closer look at both of the men's faces.

"I know you two," he said in a small voice.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you know me," the paint-stained man laughed. "I'm Akuro Arato, the up-and-coming artist."

**AKURO ARATO**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL ARTIST**

Haruhiko's mind instantly brought images of Akuro and his works. Paintings, sculptures, any form of art but ice sculpting was Akuro Arato's domain. Critics and the public alike were fascinated by the art created by Akuro. Many wealthy and powerful men and women wanted to commission Akuro but the man only worked for himself, creating art whenever inspiration hit him.

To see such a famous and talented artist was more than a surprise for Haruhiko.

Akuro noticed the look Haruhiko was giving him.

"Don't be so astonished," Akuro laughed waving his hand back and forth. "I'm human, just as much as you are."

"I honestly don't see what's so great about you," the other young man said. "Throwing paint at a canvas is nothing. Try driving through the city at more than a hundred miles per hour."

Haruhiko took a look at the other young man and he instantly recognized his face from police reports on the news.

"You are-"

"My name's Kenta Nakajima," he interrupted. "Street Racer."

**KENTA NAKAJIMA**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL STREET RACER**

This was the name of the man who dominated the underground street races ran by the gangs of the city. There was no one better behind the wheel than Kenta Nakajima but Haruhiko was sure that he was doing time after being caught driving past the speed limit. What was he doing in the same room as Akuro and himself?

"Hey! What's with that weird look you're giving me!?" Kenta yelled.

Haruhiko jumped in his chair. "I-I'm not giving you a weird look!" he hurried to say.

Before he could anger Kenta anymore, Haruhiko spun around and took a look around the classroom again. There was nothing written on the black board and the clock above said it was five minutes after 8:00. Other than the desks and the iron plates bolted over the windows, Haruhiko couldn't see anything else worth noting about the classroom. If he wanted more information, he would have to leave the room.

"There used to be twelve of us in here," Akuro said. "The rest of them left to explore but we were worried leaving you alone so we drew lots to decide who stays behind."

"So the others are outside?" Haruhiko asked.

"Of course they are," Kenta answered rudely. "Where the hell else would they be?"

Akuro gave Kenta a short look before turning back to Haruhiko. "Don't mind him," he said still smiling. "You should take a look outside of this room and introduce yourself to the other students. In fact, how about you tell us your name first?"

Haruhiko paused for a moment. "Haruhiko Amaya, Super High-School Level Follower," he told the two.

Akuro scratched the side of his sports cap. "Uh, Follower?"

"That's my title," Haruhiko told him. "Or rather, that's what I would like it to be..."

Both Akuro and Kenta gave him a puzzled look. Haruhiko decided to leave the two behind and go explore outside the classroom. The moment he left the classroom, he found himself in a hallway that had many differently colored light lighting certain sections. He noticed a sign to the left but the sign was covered and the path it stood on was covered by yellow tape repeating the words 'KEEP OUT!'

"There's no way to remove that tape," a male's voice said behind Haruhiko.

Haruhiko spun around to see a young man standing behind him. The young man had black hair with bangs spreading outwards. His clothing was mostly black except for the red shirt he wore underneath his jacket and the lapis lazuli pendant hanging around his neck.

Haruhiko's eyes moved to the female standing behind the young man. She was a slightly attractive girl with tanned skin with long black hair with a choppy fringe, one side held back by a white rose-shaped clip. She also wore a silver cardigan with sparkling snowflake buttons over her blue top and tights. Haruhiko noticed that the girl was carrying around a small blue shoulder bag and a notebook and pen in her hands.

"Did you two try to remove it?" Haruhiko asked taking another look at the yellow tape.

The silence between the three caused Haruhiko to feel a little awkward until he saw the girl take her pen and used it to write in her notebook. When she finished writing, she showed the notebook to Haruhiko.

_'Don't touch the tape. It's sharp.' _Her notebook said.

"Oh, thanks for the warning," Haruhiko said after reading what she wrote.

He held out his hand to the two. "My name's Haruhiko Amaya. I'm the Super High-School Level Follower."

The young man didn't speak again, instead letting the girl next to him write in her notebook again.

She held up the notebook again.

_'My name's Suzu Isaki,' _she wrote.

**SUZU ISAKI**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL ICE SCULPTOR**

Haruhiko immediately brought up information on Suzu Isaki, the only artist who surpassed Akuro Arato in a single field. Her ice sculptures had such detail that if it wasn't ice, anyone would mistake it for the real thing. To see another great artist was more of a surprise to Haruhiko. It was such a surprise that he didn't notice Suzu had written another line on her notebook.

_'And this silent guy is Tsukasa Mizukage, he's a thief,'_ she wrote.

**TSUKASA MIZUKAGE**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL THIEF**

Haruhiko had no information on the silent young man. He had no idea why he was called a thief but he was sure that he must be talented at it because of the presence he had. Despite being silent, Haruhiko continually felt his presence while Suzu wrote in her notebook again.

_'I'll show you where the other students are,' _she wrote.

"Thanks again," Haruhiko said bowing to the girl.

He was surprised yet again when he saw the girl smile at him. He was forced to turn his face away, otherwise Suzu might see his blushing face.

Suzu walked away but before Haruhiko could follow, Tsukasa grabbed his shoulder.

"Be careful," he said. "Something's going to happen. I can feel it."

Haruhiko gave Tsukasa a puzzled look. Tsukasa remained silent as he went his way into the classroom where Haruhiko used to be sleeping in. He figured that the silent man was checking on Akuro and Kenta but shrugged it off as he went to follow Suzu.

The young man followed the cute girl until she stopped in front of a room. She opened the door to reveal the rows of monitors with a large screen in front of them. Haruhiko figured it was the A/V room of the school. He ignored the monitors and saw that four other students were in the room with them.

The first he saw was a short young man who had a delicate-looking build and incredibly short black hair. He wore punk-style clothes like the leather jacket, torn jeans, and a shiny belt with a sparkling design.

The next person he saw was a foreign girl with long chestnut hair tied into two ponytails going down her back. She wore the simplest clothes he saw so far, only wearing a yellow one-piece dress with a ribbon tied around her waist.

The tanned girl standing next to the foreign girl was the next one Haruhiko turned his attention to. She wore a large coat over her torn seifuku and skirt with ankle socks. One of the most notable aspects of her appearance he saw was the dyed purple hair and the medical mask she wore over her mouth.

The last of the four in the room was a man taller than the other three. He had short dirty blonde hair with blue eyes and a moderate amount of freckles around his nose. His simple t-shirt and jeans hung loosely on his skinny yet tall frame and the soot-covered coat on his shoulder seemed large compared to the rest of his body. The last thing Haruhiko noticed about the man was the soot covering his face, giving him a dirty look.

"There's nothing useful in this room," the punk man said finishing his study of one of the monitors.

"Should we regroup with the others?" the girl with purple hair said.

"Je ne pense pas," the foreign girl said before realizing she was speaking in French. She then switched to a heavy French accent when she started speaking Japanese. "Oh, sorry, I'm still getting used to speaking Japanese. I meant to say I don't think so. There might be something else we can find."

The soot-covered man spoke next. "I agree with Alice," he said. "Who knows? We might find an exit out of this creepy place."

Haruhiko moved forward, instantly getting the attention of the four students. They each turned their eyes to him, causing Haruhiko to tremble a little from all the stares he got.

"Oh, hey! It's that guy we thought was in a coma!" the soot-covered man yelled running forward to shake Haruhiko's hand. "So, how are you doing? Doing better, man?"

"Uh, yeah," Haruhiko said shaking the man's gloved hand.

"So what's your name?" he asked. "I'm Tayaka Hideyoshi! Pyrotechnics extraordinaire!"

**TAYAKA HIDEYOSHI**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL PYROTECHNIST**

Haruhiko heard of Tayaka Hideyoshi before. Almost all of the fireworks he saw within the last year were either created by him directly or had his involvement in some way. He created such brilliant colors in his fireworks that anyone watching was dazzled with each explosion.

"Haruhiko Amaya," he told Tayaka. "Super High-School Level Follower."

"Follower? What the hell does that mean?" the purple-haired girl asked. "By the way, my name's Kohaku Hidaka."

**KOHAKU HIDAKA**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL BABY-SITTER**

Haruhiko didn't have that much information on Kohaku but he did know that any adult would be lucky to have her as a baby-sitter. Looking at Kohaku, however, didn't quite fit Haruhiko's idea of the perfect baby-sitter. He figured it must be what she wore when she wasn't working.

"It must mean stalker," the punk young man said. "Obviously that's what he means by Follower."

Haruhiko quickly corrected the young man wearing punk clothes before the others could give him creeped-out stares.

"It means I like to follow people's online updates," he quickly corrected. "Honestly, there's nothing weird about it."

"Still kind of weird," the man wearing punk clothes said. "And I guess it's my turn to introduce myself. The name's Asato Tottori."

**ASATO TOTTORI**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL ORATOR**

Haruhiko knew Asato to be the near legendary speaker at many debates across the country. While he couldn't remember what the debates were about, he knew that Asato won every debate he was in.

"I guess that means it is my turn," the girl who Tayaka called Alice earlier said. "Bonjour, my name is Alice Labella. It is certainly a pleasure to meet you."

**ALICE LABELLA**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL BAKER**

Alice Labella, the baker that Haruhiko was sure baked the many sweets at a certain bakery. Her sweets sold out in less than an hour and anyone wishing to buy some had to wait outside the bakery at the crack of dawn. Haruhiko managed to get his hands on a strawberry cake cooked by her once and it was by far the best cake he ever had in his life.

"Do any of you have an idea of what's happening here?" Haruhiko asked once introductions were out of the way.

Haruhiko knew that each of the four students shook their heads at his questions.

"We've only been awake for about fifteen minutes," Asato told him.

"All we found out is that we are trapped in this school," Kohaku added.

"Yeah, not a single exit isn't blocked somehow," Tayaka said scratching his head. "If I had the materials, I might be able to blow apart one of the iron plates over the windows but I don't have any of my tools and any materials I might find here probably won't be strong enough."

"Nous sommes coincés ici," Alice said before coughing. "I mean, we're stuck here for now."

Haruhiko turned his eyes to Suzu. "Not very good news," he told her.

He waited until she finished writing in her notebook.

_'I know but we still don't know if the other six found something,' _she wrote.

"You really believe they have something?" Haruhiko asked.

Suzu simply nodded her head instead of writing in her notebook.

"Fine, let's hear what the other six have to say," Haruhiko sighed.

Before they could leave, however, Tayaka yelled.

"Hey! Tell the others that we'll stay here and continue to investigate, alright?"

Haruhiko looked back at the four. "Sure, I'll tell them," he said.

With that said, Haruhiko left the four behind in the A/V room and followed Suzu through the hallway. On their way to the destination, however, the two were stopped by two female students walking through the hallway in the opposite direction. The lean and fit girl had shoulder-length black hair with white stripes and wore a black blazer over a white shirt and a black skirt with white crisscrossing lines. She rubbed her bandaged hand while she spoke.

"So this is that sleepyhead?" she said upon seeing Haruhiko.

Suzu held up her notebook.

_'Yes, his name is Haruhiko Amaya,' _she wrote.

"Haruhiko, huh? Nice to meet you," she said reaching out with the hand she was using to rub her other hand. "Kaori Kamioka, first-rate journalist."

**KAORI KAMIOKA**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL JOURNALIST**

Haruhiko certainly heard of Kaori Kamioka before. She was a big name in the news business. Not a single celebrity or politician was safe from her camera. She caught so many celebrities or politician in comprising situations that Haruhiko was sure she must have gotten quite a few enemies. Despite the dangers, however, Kaori continued to be a journalist.

"What happened to your hand?" Haruhiko noticed after shaking Kaori's uninjured hand.

Kaori held up her injured hand. "Oh, this? It's really nothing," she laughed. "I just tried to punch one of these iron plates, hoping to break them with a single punch. It turns out that these iron plates are a lot harder than I thought..."

Haruhiko laughed with Kaori, wondering if she was really all there, at least until he noticed the other female student with her. The girl had a dreamy expression on her face and was constantly tilting her head from side to side. She had her blond hair cut in a pixie cut haircut with a green headband over it. The girl also wore a lacy shirt with a skirt. Haruhiko found her appearance to be kind of cutesy, even while the girl seemed to not notice him thanks to her dreamy expression.

"And this is Yukari Masuda," Kaori said pointing at the girl with the dreamy expression. "She's a typographer."

**YUKARI MASUDA**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL TYPOGRAPHER**

Haruhiko honestly didn't know what a Typographer was but he heard of her name before.

"Can she talk?" Haruhiko said noticing that the girl remained quiet even after being introduced.

"I can talk," Yukari answered, causing Haruhiko to jump at the sound of her dreamy voice. "It's just that I'd rather not right now."

"O-okay," Haruhiko responded.

"Don't mind her," Kaori said chuckling. "She'll only talk whenever she feels like it so for the future, don't be insulted if she doesn't talk back."

"I'll keep it in mind," Haruhiko told them.

"Thanks," Kaori said smiling. "Anyway, Yukari and I are going to gather the others so you should introduce yourself to the others before then. I think the three music nuts are still in the Trophy Room at the end of the hallway."

Haruhiko thanked Kaori for the information and left the two girls behind as they walked through the hallway until they reached the end. They opened the door to enter into a slightly small room that had a trophy case taking most of the wall on one side while on the opposite side of the door Haruhiko entered through, was another pair of doors. Haruhiko ignored the pair of doors as he stared at a female student arguing with a male student while another female student was sandwiched between them, looking as if she were ready to cry.

"If I had a harp, I would show you!" the girl whose indigo hair was done in sixteen tiny plaits with bells attached to each plait.

"Well, I don't see a harp anywhere," the male student wearing a tie with the kanji for winter written on it said. "So you can't actually prove anything."

"P-please, you don't have to argue about who's better," the girl who looked like she was about to cry said.

"Yes, we do!" the girl yelled back, causing the girl to shrink.

"I believe a little competition is good for developing my singing," the male student told the crying girl.

It took him a while but Haruhiko recognized all three of the students in the trophy room.

He pointed at the male student. "That's Fuyu Mayuzuki. The singer."

**FUYU MAYUZUKI**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL SINGER**

Fuyu Mayuzuki was a man who wore a white polo shirt with the top two buttons undone and black slacks. He readjusted his tie and the black ear muffs around his neck while he argued with the girl that Haruhiko recognized too.

"She's Hanabi Otonashi," he said.

**HANABI OTONASHI**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL HARPIST**

Hanabi Otonashi was a girl who wore a long jumper with sleeves that reached her thighs and shorts. Haruhiko noticed the line that went across her eyebrows, an old scar from an unknown cause.

The last girl Haruhiko recognized was a girl with a cardigan like Suzu along with shorts. She had medium-length blonde hair with a bob haircut that had the end of her hairs curled up. The last thing Haruhiko noticed, as a male, was that her breasts were larger than the girls he met before, even underneath the cardigan she wore.

"And that's Makaki Shuzi."

**MAKAKI SHUZI**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL PIANIST**

Each of the three in the room was an accomplished musician in some way. Haruhiko knew that both Hanabi and Makaki were masters at playing their respective instruments but Fuyu was the more famous of three, being a singer who sung plenty of popular songs. To see three masters of music in the same room was impressive but what was more impressive was to see the reaction each one had to the others. Haruhiko would have continued to watch the three talk amongst themselves longer had they not been interrupted by the PA system suddenly turning on. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the PA system speaker in the room.

"Listen everybody! This is your headmaster! Gather into the gym at once!"

The voice speaking into speaker was such a disturbingly cheerful voice that Haruhiko wasn't sure if it was real until the voice repeated its message. Everything might have been strange for Haruhiko but that voice was the first thing that happened that honestly scared him. He couldn't put his finger on it but whoever that voice belonged to was someone to fear. He decided it would be safer to just listen to the voice then to disobey.

He looked at Suzu. "Do you know where the Gym is?" he asked.

Suzu nodded and pointed at the pair of doors he ignored earlier.

"I guess we should listen to that voice," Haruhiko told Suzu. "We might get an explanation..."

...

In the middle of a room filled with monitors showing different pictures of the school hallways and rooms, a single man sitting on a chair with wheels kept his attention on the monitors that showed the gymnasium. His gray-silver eye focused on group of fourteen students who gathered into the gymnasium, each one studying the room around them. He tightened his tie with one hand while the other remained inside his uniform pants pocket. His coat laid on his chair while the man played with the MP3 around his neck.

"Don't you think you should join your classmates, Kurosu?" the man said without taking his eye off the gymnasium monitor.

Without turning around, the man noticed the presence of the male student standing behind him. The male student wore a trench coat over his casual clothes and combat boots.

"I don't require your services right now, Kurosu Ikeda," the man waving his hand at the man behind.

**KUROSU IKEDA**

**SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL INFORMATION BROKER**

The man Kurosu gritted his teeth. "I don't need you either," he told the man. "But you have some useful information I need so I'm willing to let you live for now."

"That's nice to hear," the man responded still not turning to face Kurosu. "Now hurry up and join your classmates before they start to get suspicious."

Kurosu clenched his fists as he stormed out of the room of monitors.

"He's going to be a problem later," the man said to himself. "But it doesn't matter. I got what I want."

The man stared into the monitor and flicked his black hair out of his right teal eye to let both of his eyes focus on the single student in the group of fourteen. The messy red-head student wearing a blue hoodie with worn-out jeans. His eyes focused and studied the student known as Haruhiko Amaya.

"Just what is your talent, Haruhiko Amaya," he whispered continuing to stare at Haruhiko.

...

_Author's note: The unavoidable chapter, the introductions. I didn't get much done but the introductions so please forgive me if I didn't get your OC right. I'll be sure to get more of their personality down in the next chapter. Thank you for reading this so far and thanks again to those who sent in OC's. _


	3. Chapter 3: Bear

Fifteen students gathered into the gymnasium. While there were sixteen chairs set up, none of the students bothered sitting down on either the chairs or the bleachers on both sides of the gym. They simply remained standing around, each one staring at the stage in front of them.

Haruhiko looked around the gymnasium, seeing thirteen students he met before including one male student he never saw until then. The pale student wearing the trench coat had a face Haruhiko didn't recognize. He must have had a talent like the rest of the students if he was standing here with them in the gymnasium, waiting for whoever called the students to gather here.

Haruhiko felt a tap on his shoulder and shifted his attention away from the unknown student to Suzu, who had been standing next to him after they gathered into the gymnasium.

She held up her note for him to read.

_'That's Kurosu Ikeda. Don't bother talking to him. He'll just insult you,'_ she wrote.

"Thanks for the warning," he told Suzu.

Suzu nodded and turned her attention back to the stage.

"Hey! Why are you making us wait?" Hanabi yelled at the security camera in the gym.

Kenta stomped his foot, creating a loud bang that made the four students near him jump. "You're the one who called us here! How about you actually show yourself!" he yelled pointing at the security camera.

"M-maybe something got in the way?" Makaki suggested.

"If that's true, then it's mighty irresponsible of him to announce a gathering and not show up," Fuyu said fixing his tie. "Do you understand how angry my fans would be if I didn't show up at my own concert?"

"I'd say they'd be pretty pissed off," Kohaku added.

"Come out or else I'll drag you out!" Kaori yelled clenching her fist at the stage.

Kohaku pointed at the fuming Kaori. "Kind of like that," she chuckled.

Nothing happened despite hearing the angry yells of a few students. Haruhiko was beginning to think that the announcement might've been a lie until he heard the same disturbingly cheerful voice speak again.

"Looks like every student is here! It's about time!"

All fifteen students turned their eyes to the podium on the stage to see the owner of the unsettling cheery voice pop out from underneath it. None of the students expected the voice to belong to a half-black half-white stuffed bear. They couldn't help but stare at the strange bear sitting on the podium, waving its palm at the students below.

"My name is Monokuma! I'm going to be your headmaster during your time at Hope's Peak Academy!" the bear proudly announced.

Stunned silence filled the gymnasium, surprising the bear as it expected at least a small applause.

"Wow, what a tough crowd," Monokuma whispered wiping its forehead.

"Ha-ha, that stuffed bear is talking!" Yukari laughed pointing her finger at Monokuma.

"I am not a stuffed toy!" Monokuma argued jumping to its feet. "I am your headmaster!"

"But, dude, you totally look like a stuffed bear," Tayaka added. "Honest, I got a few stuffed animals at festivals and you look just like one of them."

"And those colors don't look natural at all," Akuro added.

"Except he's capable of talking and moving," Asato said.

"Exactly, just what the punk gal said," Monokuma chuckled.

"I'm a boy!" Asato yelled at the bear.

Monokuma took a closer look Asato before shrugging. "Could've fooled me," it said.

"Stop with the chit-chat and tell us what's happening!" Kenta yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Kenta is right! Why are we trapped in this school?" Hanabi added. "Mind telling us why you have iron plates bolted over all the windows or why the entrance is blocked too?"

Haruhiko looked around and saw that the other students were equally curious about their current situation. He wasn't scared of being trapped inside the school like most of the others but his gut told him to be wary of this Monokuma. He couldn't explain his fear of the bear but he didn't want to take the chance of not listening to his gut.

"This school is going to be your home from now on," Monokuma answered.

"Our home!? I didn't sign up for boarding school!" Kaori argued looking ready to punch the bear at any moment. "I'm a journalist, you know! I can't be stuck here when there's so much going on outside."

"Moi aussi! I can't be away from home," Alice said trembling.

"Well, too bad!" Monokuma yelled back. "You came to this academy of your own free will! Get used to these halls because you'll be here forever!"

Forever. That single word sent the students back into stunned silence for a whole minute. Even Kaori and Kenta were struck silent by that single word.

"F-forever!?" Makaki said tears welling in her eyes.

Monokuma held its mouth, as if to prevent itself from bursting into loud laughter. "Upupu…" it chuckled. "That's right. Forever. Eternity. You'll be spending the rest of your pathetic lives inside this school!"

"You can't keep us in here forever!" Kohaku yelled taking a step forward. "That's kidnapping!"

"I went over this already! You are the ones who willingly stepped into this school!" Monokuma told Kohaku. "So if you want to blame anyone, blame yourselves!"

"Like hell this is our faults!" Kenta argued stomping his foot again. "You're the one who put all those things to keep us in, aren't you!?"

Monokuma scratched his belly as he replied. "Hey, if you want to get out so badly, all you have to do is graduate by killing one of your fellow classmates."

Once again, Monokuma sent the students into a state of stunned silence. Even Yukari lost her dreamy expression, replacing it with one of terror, at the words told to them.

Haruhiko could no longer remain silent.

"We have to kill to get out?" he asked breaking the silence.

"Yes! If you want to go back to that dreadful outside world instead of staying in this great school I set up for you, then you have to murder one of your classmates."

"But why? Why do we have to commit murder to get out?" Hanabi asked.

"Because those are the rules," Monokuma answered. "Anyway, let's move on so you boys and girls can begin killing each other."

Monokuma paid no attention to the feelings of the other student as it began to hand out electronic rectangular devices. "These are your electronic student IDs," it explained as it handed one of the devices to Tsukasa. "Keep it with you at all times and don't lose it! Replacing these things are a pain!"

After Monokuma handed Suzu and Haruhiko their IDs, the bear continued explaining. "That's one useful ID you worthless students have. Inside, you'll find a student rulebook, map, and all kinds of other great things!"

Haruhiko touched the screen of his ID, bringing up both his name and the school's symbol onto the screen. His finger then tapped the map icon and it brought up a blueprint of the whole first floor. Right now, he could see his location on the map but what surprised him was to find that he had only explored half of the first floor. There was still the dorms, cafeteria, bathes, and laundry room on the other side of the path covered by the sharp yellow tape.

"I got rid of that pesky tape and allowed you students access to your rooms," Monokuma told the students. "Do whatever you like from now on but read the rulebook first. There's some useful information there. And remember, whoever kills one of their classmates gets a first-class ticket out of here!"

With that said, the fifteen students watched the bear sprint back to the podium. It jumped over and disappeared behind the podium. Kaori ran up to the stage to check on the podium but was surprised to find no trace of a trapdoor or anything like that.

"That stuffed bear's really gone," Kaori said staring at the floor behind the podium.

Haruhiko felt Suzu tap on his shoulder again. She showed him her notebook when he turned his head.

_"What do you think of this?'_ she wrote.

"I think it's a bunch of bull," Haruhiko answered. "For what reason does that bear want us to kill each other? What does it gain from forcing us to murder our classmates? I just don't understand why this is happening."

"But what reason does that bear have to lie to us?" Tsukasa's voice said from behind Haruhiko.

Haruhiko turned to find the silent man simply standing right behind him, his eyes staring down at the shorter man below.

"What?" Haruhiko said.

"If you think about it, Monokuma has no reason to lie to us either," Tsukasa continued. "It has the power to keep us trapped in this school, surely it has the power to snuff us out as well. To give us the chance of freedom means that the bear is serious."

"Serious about murdering our classmates?"

"Yes," Tsukasa answered. "But to be honest, I don't believe anyone will go for murder right now..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Tsukasa, however, didn't bother to answer Haruhiko's answer. The man instead spun around and left the gymnasium while the other eleven students, excluding Kuruso, conversed amongst themselves about the scene that had just happened. It calmed Haruhiko to hear the others claim they would never take the life of another, even if it meant their freedom. Something still bothered him though.

Haruhiko didn't feel like following anyone in the room at the moment so he decided to check out the room labeled as his room on the ID's map. He ignored Akuro talking with Tayaka about the artistic qualities of his fireworks and moved on past the path that used to be blocked by the sharp yellow tape. He found himself in a spacious area with the cafeteria to the right and the bath and laundry to the left. He simply walked past them, ignoring Alice trying to speak Japanese to Kohaku but accidently talked in French most of the time. He found his room in-between Suzu's and Tsukasa's and after chuckling at his luck of being stuck between those two, he turned his door's lock and entered his room.

The room was simple enough. Just a bed, bathroom, and other such simplistic bedroom necessities. Haruhiko sat down on his bed and poked his ID again, bringing its screen to life. He tapped the rules part of the notebook, revealing the list of rules devised by Monokuma.

_1. The students will live a communal lifestyle with no time limit inside the school walls._

_2. The time between 10pm and 7am is called "Night Time". During Night Time there are places that are forbidden to enter, so please take care._

_3. Sleeping is only permitted in the personal rooms prepared for you in the dormitory area. Deliberately falling asleep anywhere else will be punished._

_4. You may investigate the school as you please. There are no special restrictions on your actions._

_5. No violence is permitted against the school's headmaster, Monokuma. Destruction of the surveillance cameras is also forbidden._

_6. A "Villain" who kills a fellow student will graduate the school. However, they must not betray their crime to the other students._

_7. Additional rules may be added by the school at any time._

Haruhiko looked up at the camera in his room, its lens pointing straight at him. Monokuma must have been watching him through that camera. Haruhiko held up his middle finger to the camera, letting the bear know his feelings towards it.

At that time, Haruhiko heard a knock at his door.

…

Author's note: So who's at Haruhiko's door? Vote for the OC to appear at the door.

Also, thanks for the reviews. This might be a short chapter but they'll get longer when the deaths happen…


	4. Chapter 4: Name

Haruhiko looked up the moment he heard a knock at his door. He walked up to the door, finding out that there was no way for him to find out who stood on the other side unless he opened it. It was dangerous to open the door for anyone at this time but Haruhiko didn't believe the others would actually listen to Monokuma. He decided to open his door…

And was given a pleasant surprise when he saw Suzu standing on the other side.

"S-Suzu? Why are you here?"

Haruhiko watched the girl write in her notebook, holding it up for him to read when she finished.

'_I wanted to check on you,' _she wrote.

Without asking, Suzu walked past Haruhiko. Suzu looked around his room, ignoring the panicking Haruhiko behind her.

"Hey, you can't just barge in here without permission!" Haruhiko said grabbing her shoulder.

Haruhiko turned Suzu to face him but the young man was taken aback by the incredibly cute expression on Suzu's face. She looked as if the wrong word would send her crying.

Suzu held up her notebook with one hand while the other was touching the tip of her lips. _'I'm sorry. Was I not allowed here?'_

"No, I should apologize, I'm the one being ru- wait, I didn't see you write that last line in your notebook," Haruhiko said.

Suzu ignored Haruhiko again as she explored his whole room, checking inside his closet and the drawer next to his bed. It surprised Haruhiko when the female student pulled out a case of tools out of his drawer. It surprised him even more to find dozens of the same hoodie and jeans he wore hanging in his room's closet.

Suzu held up her notebook again.

'_It's the same in my room too. Except I have a sewing kit in my drawers.'_

"Seriously? But that would mean…"

"Killing your classmates becomes all the much easier this way!" Monokuma cackled.

Both Haruhiko and Suzu jumped back a foot the moment the strange yet terrifying bear appeared between them. Haruhiko felt like his heart would pop out of his chest while the bear continued.

"How boring would it be if you were caught murdering your classmate simply because they found you with your victim's blood on your clothes? That's why you now have multiple sets of the clothes you came here wearing," Monokuma told them.

Suzu hurried to write in her notebook.

'_What about the sewing kit in my drawer? What purpose does that have?'_

It took a moment for Monokuma to read Suzu's handwriting but when it did, it let out another loud cackle.

"Tools for murder!" Monokuma answered.

"W-what!?" Haruhiko responded.

"For the boys, a tool kit and for the girls, a sewing kit," Monokuma explained. "For boys, one simple blow to the head with a hammer and for girls, aim for the neck! Both ways are perfectly okay to kill your classmates!"

With that said, Monokuma disappeared just as fast as it had appeared, leaving the shocked Haruhiko and Suzu behind.

"That bear is really getting on my nerves," Haruhiko said after finally catching his breath.

Suzu nodded in agreement.

It took a while for the two to calm down after being shocked by Monokuma. When they did calm down, Haruhiko and Suzu decided to help each other by searching his room for anything that could be useful to them. All they found was a notepad and the fact that the room was just as simple as it looked. The sealed toolbox in the drawer and the clothes in the closet were all that were interesting about the room.

After finishing their search, Haruhiko felt like he bonded a little with Suzu…

…..

"Okay, now that we are all here, we can start the meeting," Asato said.

Haruhiko, Suzu, and the other thirteen students had gathered into the Cafeteria at Asato's request. Each student but Kurosu, had taken a seat at the single large table in the Cafeteria. Again, Haruhiko found himself in-between Suzu and Tsukasa, both being as quiet as possible around him. Haruhiko felt uncomfortable between them while the rest talked amongst themselves.

"We have to find out our situation," Asato told the others. "For now, it seems we are stuck in this school. There is one way out but I doubt anybody will take that path."

"What makes you so sure we won't?"

Those were the first words Haruhiko heard come out of Kurosu's mouth. The other fourteen students turned their attention to the single student refusing to sit down with them.

"I'm not so sure about you but the rest of us won't commit murder," Asato answered with a stern voice.

"I agree with Kurosu," Akuro said getting gasps from the rest.

"Do you really believe we could take another's life?" Fuyu asked.

"That's stupid! Nobody should kill!" Hanabi added.

"Think about it," Akuro told the others. "We don't know what that bear has in store. It told us it'll provide motive earlier. I believe the bear will deliver on its promise."

Akuro had a point. The others agreed with him but didn't say it aloud. They had no idea what Monokuma was capable of, so it was a safe bet to believe the bear would provide a motive for them to kill.

"How about we set up a few rules for ourselves?" Yukari proposed.

"Yeah! We need to make up rules to make sure nobody gets killed," Hanabi agreed.

"What do you propose to be these rules?" Fuyu asked.

"The first rule should be that nobody leaves their rooms during Night Time," Tayaka told the others. "I noticed that the rules said some places are forbidden during the night but it doesn't say you can't go anywhere else."

"Somebody would have taken advantage of that rule," Kenta added. "I agree with him. Make that a rule."

"Okay, we got two votes for Tayaka's rule," Asato said. "Any other's agree?"

Haruhiko, Tsukasa, Suzu, and the rest of the students excluding raised their hands.

"Alright, we got one rule," Asato said. "Anybody else have an idea?"

The group conversed for the next three hours, finally agreeing to two rules. The first rule was the rule proposed by Tayaka, no leaving your room after Night Time. The second rule was proposed by Alice. She thought it to be a good idea if the group gathered into the cafeteria every morning to make sure none of them were murdered. Once they finished thinking up of rules, the group split up again, each student doing his or her own things until it was time for them to hold another meeting.

While Haruhiko walked out of the cafeteria with Suzu, Tsukasa stopped the young man.

"Come with me," Tsukasa said.

Confused by his sudden request, Haruhiko asked him a simple question. "Why?"

"I need to talk with you," he answered.

A vague answer but Tsukasa didn't give off any threatening presence so Haruhiko figured that the young man wasn't going to take him by surprise and kill him. He said good-bye to Suzu and followed Tsukasa into the men's bathroom. There, he watched as Tsukasa emptied his pockets. Haruhiko's mouth dropped as he saw Tsukasa take out packets of sugar, hair clips, and various other such trinkets from within his pockets.

"Where did you get those?" Haruhiko asked.

"I'm sure it's here somewhere…" Tsukasa whispered ignoring Haruhiko's question.

After pulling out his pockets, Tsukasa finally found what he had been looking for. Haruhiko gasped the moment he saw an ElectroiD in the young man's hands. Tsukasa pointed at him while he handed the ElectroiD to him. Haruhiko felt his pockets and came to the realization that Tsukasa had stolen his ElectroiD.

"That was so easy to swipe from your pockets," Tsukasa told Haruhiko after he took back his ElectroiD.

"Why did you steal my ElectroiD?" Haruhiko asked.

"I am the Super High-School Level Thief," Tsukasa answered. "It would be logical that I steal stuff, even stuff that's no use to me."

"That's no excuse for stealing my things!" Haruhiko argued.

"I think that it is if I stole it so easily," Tsukasa responded.

"Well, if that's all you have to say, then I'm leaving," Haruhiko said turning around.

"Wait!"

Hearing Tsukasa raise his voice was a surprise to Haruhiko. The times he heard him talk was mostly in that quiet voice of his and yet this time, he spoke with such volume that Haruhiko found himself frozen where he stood.

"Haruhiko Amaya," Tsukasa said in his usual voice. "Just where have I heard that name before?

"I don't know," Haruhiko told him.

"I'm pretty sure I heard your name before, Haruhiko," Tsukasa said scratching his head. "In my line of work, you hear a lot of things and I tend to forget most of it but I am sure I heard of you once before."

"You must be mistaken," Haruhiko said forcing his foot to move forward.

Haruhiko finished their conversation by exiting the bathroom, leaving Tsukasa alone. Tsukasa continued to scratch his head.

"Where have I heard your name, Haruhiko?" he asked.

…

Haruhiko threw himself onto his bed. His body told him that it must have been night time because of his tired muscles and overwhelming desire to simply shut his eyes and fall asleep. He thought about the time he had on his first day at Hope's Peak Academy. All the students but Kenta, Kurosu, and Tsukasa seemed to be nice enough that Haruhiko couldn't picture any of them commiting murder. Meeting Suzu too could be considered the silver line of his situation. Even if he was trapped in this school, he could deal with it if he could talk with Suzu a little more.

The TV screen in Haruhiko's room turned itself on. He turned his head to face the screen. Haruhiko saw Monokuma sitting with a glass of wine on the TV screen. Haruhiko scowled as the bear spoke.

"It is now 10:00, Night Time is in effect," Monokuma announced. "The Cafeteria is now restricted until 7:00. Have a good night, my students. You better be well-rested tomorrow. I'll finally give you worthless students a motive to kill each other…"

….

Author's note: And thus ends another quick chapter. Didn't reveal much this chapter. But look forward to the next chapter. Monokuma provides a motive and we finally have our first victim! Also, vote on a Free-time event, excluding Suzu and Tsukasa, but be careful, you might vote for the victim…


	5. Chapter 5: Victim

Haruhiko's eyes sprang open the moment Monokuma appeared on the screen in his room and started the morning announcement.

"It is now 7:00," Monokuma announced. "Let's have a great day, students. Remember, I'll be announcing a motive later today so be ready!"

With that said, the screen turned off, having successfully awoken Haruhiko. The young student got up from his bed, took a shower, put a different yet the same set of clothes he wore yesterday, and left the room. He walked down the hallway on his way to the cafeteria to participate in the first meeting. Along the way, he met up with Fuyu and Kohaku. Fuyu looked the same as he did the day before but Kohaku was the opposite.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Haruhiko asked.

Kohaku glared at him. "What do you think?" she replied rudely.

"Sorry for bothering you," Haruhiko whispered watching the girl enter the cafeteria.

"Not a very smooth talker, are you?" Fuyu chuckled.

"Eh, smooth talking isn't my forte," Haruhiko told the singer.

Fuyu chuckled at him again. "Can't get any girls if you don't have any charm," he told him. "Why, look at me. Girls flock to me from every direction after my concerts."

"That's because of your looks and singing," Haruhiko reminded.

"Oh yeah," Fuyu laughed. "There's that too."

Haruhiko watched as Fuyu sat down at the large table in the middle of the cafeteria. He looked around to see that only Kohaku, Fuyu, Tayaka, Alice, Asato, and he were the only people in the cafeteria at the time. Alice was in the kitchen, baking something that released a smell capable of making Haruhiko salivate. It took all of Haruhiko's will to keep himself from checking on Alice's cooking and chose to turn his attention on the other students entering the cafeteria five minutes later.

Suzu and Tsukasa entered the room together, both of whom taking a seat next to Haruhiko. Haruhiko's feelings were conflicted. On one hand, he was glad to be sitting next to Suzu but on the other hand, he felt uncomfortable with Tsukasa sitting on the other side.

The next to enter the room were the terrifying Kenta and Kurosu. They'd been glaring at each other ever since they entered into the room, only breaking their glare when they sat down.

Makaki slipped into the cafeteria, trying to be as silent as possible until she sat down. Kaori and Yukari followed after the pianist. Yukari still kept tilting her head from side to side with the same dreamy expression on her face while she followed Kaori to their seats at the table. Hanabi then came in, smelled the air, and ran towards the kitchen to see what Alice was baking. Akuro was the last to enter, putting his head down onto the table.

"Need coffee…" Akuro moaned.

"I do too," Kaori said chewing on her nail. "But I checked yesterday and there isn't a single coffee bean in that kitchen."

"There's a lot of tea with caffeine though," Yukari added.

Akuro got up from his seat. "It'll have to do for now," he whispered stumbling into the kitchen.

"Now that we're all here, we can start the meeting," Asato said looking around. "Does anyone have any information they gathered from the investigation yesterday?"

Makaki raised her hand. "I found nothing at the entrance hall."

"There's no way past that iron door," Kenta added.

"Even if we got past that door, those guns would kill us before we got anywhere," Fuyu added.

"The amount of explosives needed to blast it open is massive," Tayaka said. "I could make it but I'm sure the materials needed won't be found in a school."

Asato turned his head to Haruhiko and two next to him. "How about you three? Did you find anything?"

"I didn't help with any investigations," Haruhiko answered. "But I did learn that Monokuma seemed to have built this school to make murder easier. I found multiple sets of my clothes in my closet and a tool kit in my drawer."

"It's same with my room," Tsukasa told Asato.

"So is that it?" Asato said looking around the room. He stared at Kurosu but didn't ask him anything because of the glare he was giving him. "We didn't get much new information."

"What do you expect when we can't leave the first floor?" Kaori said. "There isn't anything on this floor. There are a few rooms we can't get into though..."

"Maybe there's something in those rooms?" Haruhiko said.

"You don't need to go into those rooms if you just kill one of your classmates!"

Once again, everyone jumped at the sudden appearance of the black and white bear. Monokuma chuckled while it sat in one of the chairs around the large table.

"Come on, why haven't any of you killed yet? I thought for sure I wouldn't need to give you guys a motive," Monokuma said waving its small arms. Haruhiko thought it was trying to make an angry expression but the bear's face didn't change much.

"Did you honestly believe we're so evil that we would kill without reason?" Asato asked the bear. "Sorry but none of us here belong in an asylum… at least not for murderous tendencies."

"Hey, you are all high school students," Monokuma argued. "Your kind did a lot worse for a lot less."

"You sure have a low opinion of humans," Haruhiko said.

"Upupu…" Monokuma chuckled. "Then how about I give you worthless students a reason to kill?"

The others stared at the bear for a second, waiting for it to continue.

"Gather into the gymnasium in thirty minutes," Monokuma chuckled.

Monokuma then disappeared just as fast as it appeared, leaving behind the confused students.

"That bear sure likes popping up when he's not wanted," Tsukasa said after Monokuma disappeared.

Haruhiko felt Suzu tap on his shoulder. He looked to his side to see Suzu holding up her notebook for him to read.

_"I'm worried."_ She wrote in her notebook.

"Don't be," he told her. "Whatever that bear has for us, I'm sure it won't matter. We won't kill each other…"

…..

After eating a very delicious breakfast made by Alice with help from Akuro and Hanabi, the fifteen students gathered into the gymnasium. Once again, they waited until the bear decided to show itself.

Haruhiko remained silent in the corner with Suzu and the unwelcomed Tsukasa. Haruhiko still felt uncomfortable around the thief, checking his pockets for anything missing. No matter what he did, however, the thief refused to leave his side. He kept staring at him, as if he was trying to remember where he heard Haruhiko's name before.

Suzu tapped on Haruhiko's shoulder again.

_"Don't bother. Tsukasa won't leave until he gets what he wants."_ She wrote.

"Hmm? Do you know him?" Haruhiko asked Suzu.

Suzu shook her head.

"I just tried to steal her ice sculptures a few times," Tsukasa told Haruhiko. "Funny thing though, ice sculptures don't last that long. Maybe that was why she let me steal them."

Suzu glared at Tsukasa, making him take a step away.

"You're finally all here!"

The fifteen students turned their heads to see Monokuma pop out from underneath the podium. The bear fell and sat down on top of the podium, waving its arm at the students below.

"Let's get this over quick," Akuro said scratching his head. "I just want to get back to sleep."

"Sleep all you want in your bedrooms," Monokuma told Akuro. "As long as you're sure your throat won't be slit during your sleep, that is. Upupu…"

Akuro no longer felt like going back to sleep after the bear's comment. Instead, he paid attention with the other fourteen students while Monokuma took out fifteen envelopes from somewhere in the podium. Haruhiko had to squint but he could see that each envelope had a name written on it.

"Here in my hands, I hold the motives to give you worthless students a reason to kill each other," Monokuma said tossing the envelopes onto the ground. "Find the envelope with your name on it and take a look inside."

The fifteen students listened to the bear chuckle while they picked up the envelopes. Haruhiko searched for his and for a moment, his hand brushed against Suzu's. They both instantly retracted their hands. Before Haruhiko could be embarrassed, however, he felt Tsukasa poking his head with the corner of an envelope.

"Here's yours, Haruhiko," Tsukasa said while the young man took the envelope out of his hands.

"I wonder what are in these…" Haruhiko whispered ignoring the thief while he ripped open the envelope.

Inside the envelope was a single folded-up piece of paper. Haruhiko pulled out and unfolded the paper, seeing several words written in very sloppy handwriting across the page.

_Tsukasa once stole candy from a baby._

Haruhiko didn't know what to think of the words written on the page. For one, he was disgusted by the fact that Tsukasa actually stole candy from a baby. Haruhiko, however, didn't know whether he should believe the words on the paper or not.

"What the hell is this!?"

Haruhiko jumped at the sound of Kenta yelling at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing in the gymnasium.

"Tayaka once blew up a car because he wanted to see if he could," Kenta said reading the words on the paper in his hand. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Wait, does your paper really say that?" Tayaka asked Kenta. "I thought I was alone when I did that…"

"Upupu…" Monokuma chuckled ignoring Tayaka. "It means exactly what it says. I decided that this time around, I would give each of you a piece of information that you would find detestable. All for the sake of one of you hating the other enough to murder them!"

It surely wasn't a motive Haruhiko expected. Going by the looks on the other student's faces, they must have also received a piece of information about one of their classmates. Haruhiko found himself wondering who got the envelope with information on him.

"I'll leave you students alone for now," Monokuma said waving its arm. "I'm looking forward to when one of you finally commits murder…"

Monokuma jumped back behind the podium, disappearing and letting the students talk amongst themselves.

"Okay, listen," Asato said. "No matter what your note says, you cannot murder any of your classmates. I want us to all forget what is written on these notes and continue our investigation."

"Je ne sais pas," Alice said. "I mean, I don't know. It'll be hard to forget it."

"I agree with Alice," Kaori said. "This is just like my stories. Most people will forget the good the moment I find something bad about them."

"Not to mention these notes seem made to play on our beliefs and such," Fuyu added. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone actually got a legitimate motive to kill one of us."

"It won't come to that," Asato told Fuyu.

"What makes you so sure?"

Haruhiko was surprised to finally hear Kurosu speak. The young man tore up his envelope, not bothering to open it, while the other's eyes were on him.

"Decided to open your mouth, huh?" Kohaku said glaring at Kurosu.

"I just couldn't stand watching you idiots be this stupid any longer," Kurosu responded.

"What was that!?" Kohaku yelled clenching her fist at the young man.

Kurosu sighed. "I don't have to explain every word I say," he said looking down on Kohaku. "This whole thing is boring. I'm going back to my room."

Haruhiko and the others watched Kurosu exit the gym, leaving the torn pieces of his envelope. Tsukasa left Haruhiko's side and picked the remains of the envelope. A frown spread across his face as he saw Tsukasa pocket the torn envelope.

"I have a feeling it'll be useful later," Tsukasa said seeing Haruhiko's glare.

Haruhiko only continued to glare at Tsukasa.

…..

Time passed and the fifteen students all left the gymnasium to continue their investigation. Haruhiko checked the laundry room with Suzu and Tsukasa, leaving when he needed to use the bathroom. The young man left the two in the laundry room to find the men's bathroom. On the way there, he past the daydreaming Yukari talking to Fuyu and Hanabi about their music. He passed by Kaori too but unlike the others, Kaori jumped in front of his path.

"Did you get my information?" she asked.

"Um, what?"

Kaori took a step closer and leaned her head forward. "You know what I'm talking about," she said. "Monokuma gave us each a piece of information about each other. I want to know if you got mine."

Haruhiko shook his head. "No, I got Tsukasa," he told her.

"Damn," Kaori said chewing on her nail. "You don't have it either."

"Are you looking for the person who got information on you?" Haruhiko asked.

"Of course I am!" Kaori answered. "It bugs me to know somebody here could know something private about me. Don't you feel the same?"

"Not really," Haruhiko replied. "I don't have any secrets or such that could make people hate me. Or at least, I think I don't…"

"It doesn't matter who you are, you have something private that other people want to know," Kaori told Haruhiko. "It's my job to find out what other's want to keep private. I have no problem invading other people's privacy but it's a completely different matter when it's my privacy being invaded."

"In other words, you're a hypocrite," Haruhiko said.

"Hey! You don't have to be so blunt," Kaori responded with her shoulders slumping.

Haruhiko tried to get past Kaori but the woman stopped him again.

"Mind telling me what juicy piece of information you have on that thief?" Kaori asked in a whisper.

"I'd rather not," Haruhiko told the journalist.

"Ah, come on! I got absolutely nothing on that thief!" Kaori yelled back. "Do you know how long I've been chasing after him for a story? A whole year, that's how long."

"That's… a little extreme," Haruhiko said.

"Extreme!? That's nothing compared to what else I did all for the sake of a story! Sleeping in a gutter, beating up whole gangs, leaping off a twelve-story tall building, and even spending a night in a haunted house! Nothing gets in the way of me and my story! No matter what it is, I'll charge straight into it!"

"Sounds pretty reckless," Haruhiko said. "And equally stupid."

"You wouldn't understand how many celebrities and politicians I either raised or ruined with my pen!" Kaori proudly claimed taking out a pen. "It's well worth the pains and obstacles I faced on the way!"

"That's nice and all… but can you move out of the way? I can't get into the bathroom with you in the way."

It took a moment for Kaori to notice that she was standing right in front of the door to the men's bathroom. A flash of red flushed over Kaori's face as she took a step aside, apologizing while Haruhiko went into the bathroom. When he finished, Haruhiko left to find that Kaori was waiting outside. He spent the rest of the day investigating with Kaori, listening to her stories about past jobs. When it was over, Haruhiko felt a little closer to the journalist, close enough that he felt she would help him out should he ever need it.

Once he finished, Haruhiko went back to his room but forgot that he had placed the clothes he wore yesterday into one of washer machines in the laundry room. He was too busy dealing with Kaori to remember taking out his clothes. Hopefully, Suzu or Tsukasa did it for him but Haruhiko sighed, knowing that at least Tsukasa wouldn't have done it. He had to check on the clothes himself before it became night-time. Haruhiko walked down the hallway, walking past Makaki, Tayaka, Kohaku, and Asato talking about some subject he couldn't hear. Haruhiko simply ignored the students he passed by and entered the laundry room.

Haruhiko looked up…

And saw a room splattered in deep-red blood.

Haruhiko instantly froze the moment he saw the blood-stained laundry room. Every article of clothing hanging above was stained with just as much blood as the floor below. Haruhiko followed the trail of blood and saw a young man lying on the floor, his body propped up against one of the washer machines. His clothes were stained with much more blood than the rest of room, even having a pool of blood around his body. Haruhiko saw the source of the blood coming the man's neck. A pair of sewing scissors stuck out of his throat, a trail of blood still trickling out.

Haruhiko, however, looked past the blood and at the man's face…

Fuyu's eyes didn't look his way and remained empty.

…

**Author's note: Sorry about the late update, some personal problems got in the way as well as college. Well, I don't have much else to say but to look forward the next chapter where we begin the investigations.**


End file.
